‘Unite’ Benefit Brings Together a Pop Sampler

Welcome to the true PopMart.

That’s one lasting impression left by “KIIS & Unite,” radio station KIIS-FM’s fifth annual benefit concert, which raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

The six-hour extravaganza Sunday at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre featured the most eclectic lineup in recent memory, from Erykah Badu and Salt-N-Pepa to Bob Carlisle (“Butterfly Kisses”) and Jon Bon Jovi.

So it was a true sampling of a cross-section of mainstream pop music. The down side was that it made the audience feel as if the artists were on a conveyor belt. Most acts were on the stage for no longer than 15 minutes, few of them had live bands and many attempts to pump genuine life into the crowd were futile.

The stature of a group seemed to have little to do with how long it performed. Real McCoy, which has yet to make a mark beyond the dance world, did five songs, while Erykah Badu, one of the most commercially potent and critically acclaimed arrivals of the year, got two.

Nu Flavor, a local R&B; vocal quartet, might have made an impression, but its set was marred by numerous off-key vocals. The Philadelphia quartet AZ Yet showed the crowd what true harmony was about with an effective set that breezed through seductive hits like “Last Night.” But it was a flawless rendition of “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” that stole the heart of every 15-year-old girl in the place.

Not that the boys had any reason to feel excluded. Badu and Salt-N-Pepa both gave sultry performances, in distinctly different ways. Badu, a vision in yellow and turquoise, stood in the middle of the stage by herself, without dancers, backup singers or musicians--not usually a good sign for an R&B; performer. But Badu’s voice is so strong that her renditions of “On & On” and “Next Lifetime” proved captivating, even with taped backing.

Salt-N-Pepa’s short performance was just as memorable for its sly versions of “Push It” and “Shoop” as it was for the trio’s revealing outfits.

People began to leave in droves as Bon Jovi frontman Jon Bon Jovi began a solo set that went from bad to worse. It’s a good thing his longtime bandmate, guitarist Richie Sambora, emerged from the wings. As they ripped through their old hits “Living On a Prayer” and “Dead or Alive,” fans rushed toward the front of the stage and sang along, reliving old memories.